The rising Hollywood star who vanished – and has never | UK News

It’s been more than 20 years since a little one actor mysteriously vanished – and his whereabouts stay unknown to this day. Born in February 1987, in Bremerton, Washington, Joseph Pichler was the fourth of 5 kids. At just four-years-old, Joe’s household relocated to Los Angeles where he pursued a profession in performing. His first skilled performing position got here when he was six, when he appeared in a business for the Seattle division store Bon Marche.

Joe’s early success in Hollywood started to flourish in 1996 when he landed a position in his first movie, The Fan. The same yr, he made appearances in TV reveals In The House and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Work got here rapidly for the younger actor. In 1997, he appeared in the tv movie Prison of Secrets and an episode of The Gun. He also expanded into voice performing, lending his skills to The Land Before Time: Sing Along Songs.

His success continued the next yr when he landed his first major position as Alex Craig in an episode of the hit CBS collection Touched by an Angel.

Joe’s profile grew additional when he was forged in the coming-of-age sports activities drama Varsity Blues as Kyle Moxon, the youthful brother of James Van Der Beek’s character, Jonathan “Mox” Moxon.

By the age of 12, it was clear Joe was on the trail to Hollywood stardom. That promise was additional highlighted in 2000 when he starred as Brennan Newton in Beethoven’s third, a position he reprised the next yr in Beethoven’s 4th.

Despite his growing success, Joe’s household later admitted that they had issues about the pressures of little one stardom.

After Joe starred in The Nightmare Room and Children on Their Birthdays in 2002, the household determined to transfer back to Washington to give him “some normalcy”.

“I just wanted him to have some normalcy in his life,” his mom, Kathy Pichler, told the Kitsap Sun. “He’s a good boy and took it well, but he wasn’t really happy about it. We always kept him really grounded.”

After enrolling at Bremerton High School, Joe deliberate to return to performing after graduating in 2005. He reportedly hoped to do so after having his braces eliminated, permitting him to spend an further yr residing in his hometown.

Joe was with his associates on January 4, 2006, and made his last identified cellphone call in the early hours of the next morning to a buddy he had seen the earlier night time. Although he said he would call back later, he never did.

Four days later, Joe’s Toyota Corolla was discovered parked at an intersection close to his home. According to the Associated Press, investigators found a observe in the vehicle in which Joe wrote that he wished he had been a “stronger brother” and requested for some of his personal belongings to be given to his youthful brother.

At the time, investigators said: “There’s a good indication that it might have been a suicide.”

However, members of the Pichler household said that they had seen no indicators that Joe had been struggling with his mental health.

It appeared the household had been satisfied that Joe wished to “start over”, as his brother Matthew told The Mirror: “He left that note saying that he wanted to start over.”

Joe’s sister, Shawna, added: “In the worst-case scenario, if anything, it’s foul play. But not suicide… He left that note saying that he wanted to start over.”

In 2011, Kathy opened up about her son’s disappearance, claiming the investigation was dealt with “so poorly by police”.

Writing for the Surviving Parents Coalition, she said: “Joseph is not a runaway; that’s the only thing I know for sure about his disappearance. After nearly six years, we still have no resolution. Since Joseph’s disappearance, my focus has been to help raise awareness of our nation’s epidemic. I also struggle to get through each day without answers as to the whereabouts of my missing son.

“Our system is so very damaged, in so many methods. Through schooling and prevention, there may be hope. I keep wanting for goal in my son’s disappearance. The only approach I’ve discovered something optimistic about my loss is when I help others live this nightmare. I do perceive the struggling of other mother and father. Now I strive to work for a better future so that others aren’t pressured to put on these footwear.”

To this day, Joe’s whereabouts is still unknown and he stays labeled as a lacking individual.